New FPSOs to have fibre-optic monitoring
A floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) unit operating for the Brazilian state energy company Petrobras (Source: Petrobras)
Two floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) units, currently being built at Yantai CIMC Raffles Offshore in China, are to have SENSFIBTM hull stress monitoring systems supplied by Light Structures of Norway.
The contracts were secured through Light Structures’ Chinese agent, China Merchants Hoi Tung, and follow another recent order of SENSFIB installations for eight LNG carriers. The FPSO systems will be delivered in November 2023 and April 2024.
The two identical FPSOs, Petrobras P-80 and Petrobras P-83, will operate for the Brazilian state energy company on the Búzios offshore oil field. With a production capacity of 225,000 barrels of oil per day, they are among the largest in the world.
The FPSOs will incorporate a range of carbon reduction technologies, including digital twins, to provide Petrobras with high-fidelity virtual duplicates of the units to facilitate remote simulation and testing that will secure operational safety, reliability, and efficiency, the company has said. The digital twins will be connected to live data from a range of sensors on the FPSOs, including the SENSFIB hull monitoring system.
Light Structures’ sales director, Goetz Vogelmann, said: “The sheer size of FPSOs combined with the risks and complexity of their offshore operations demands that structural monitoring data is available for safety and operational purposes 24/7. Our SENSFIB technology is already well proven on FPSOs worldwide, and we are confident that it will deliver the levels of data availability and accuracy that Petrobras needs to ensure its digital twins can look into the future and optimise both operational safety and efficiency.”
Jiang Yan, vice general manager at China Merchants Hoi Tung, commented: “Thanks to their long-term expertise and experience in providing FPSO structural monitoring systems and a track record as a dependable supplier for ships in China, in addition to the local support the Hoi Tung team offers, we are confident that the SENSFIB systems are the right choice for the new Petrobras FPSOs and are looking forward to the delivery and installation in the coming months.”
